Keeper timer setting
T5 UVB: one hour later on, one hour earlier off
During active care — ON: 1 hour after daylight starts.
OFF: 1 hour before daylight ends.
During hibernation / full brumation: T5 UVB OFF (0 hours). In transition months, keep UVB off while dormant and use the active timer only once the animal is warmed and active.
October: daylight 12.2 h; T5 UVB 10 h 12 m.
The active T5 duration is the photoperiod minus two hours. Example: daylight 08:00–20:00 means UVB 09:00–19:00. Follow the monthly UVI strength measured beneath the tube and provide access to shade. This timing rule does not introduce hibernation for species whose schedule has only a mild or active winter rest. If an older combined heat / UV column is present, the new T5 UVB duration column governs UVB timing; existing heat settings are preserved.
UVI beneath the optional T5 tube
Working exposure targetOctober target at normal back height
UVI 1-2directly under the tube when it is on
The retained range remains a provisional captive working target. No new species-specific result was found that clearly requires a numerical change. Retaining it is not certification of an experimentally established optimum.
Your measuring point
Measure at the animal's normal back height directly beneath the brightest accessible part of the T5 strip, positioned toward the middle/back. The animal can enter and leave this area freely.
Keep a lower-UVI gradient and fully covered refuges near UVI 0. This is the optional exposure area, not the average across the cage.
Use a UV Index meter, such as a Solarmeter 6.5/6.5R. Warm the tube for about 30 minutes; keep reflector, guards and mesh in place. Raise or lower the fixture within its manufacturer's minimum-distance guidance, then recheck the reading and every higher accessible surface.
Evidence level: Provisional retention. These are working recommendations, often inferred; exact species optima and seasonal UV dose usually have not been measured. Log lamp-on time and animal behaviour as well as UVI.
Baines et al. (2016), UV-Tool · Muryn, Baines and Dishman (2026), Reptile Lighting Guide V10
October management
Selected automatically using the Netherlands date
Neonate emergence / recovery
Northeastern Brazil - Caatinga, agreste and forest-edge ground cover; terrestrial and semi-fossorial
26-30 CDay ambient
20-23 CNight
35-38 CBasking
1-2T5 UVI*
12.2 hPhotoperiod
10 h 12 mT5 UVB duration
48-64 / 68-82%RH day / night*
Dry; maintain moist refugesRain / substrate
2-3Food days/week
Annual schedule
Scroll sideways on smaller screens
| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | RH day / night* | Rain / substrate | Food days/week | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25-28 C | 20-23 C | 34-37 C | 1-2 | 12.3 h | 10 h 18 m | 65-78 / 78-90% | Wet phase; 3-5 light rains/wk | 3-4 | Juveniles visible / adult recovery |
| February | 25-28 C | 20-23 C | 34-37 C | 1-2 | 12.2 h | 10 h 12 m | 65-78 / 78-90% | Wet phase; 3-5 light rains/wk | 3-4 | Conditioning toward mating |
| March | 25-29 C | 21-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 12.1 h | 10 h 6 m | 62-75 / 75-88% | Wet-to-drier transition | 4 | Main mating / vitellogenesis |
| April | 25-29 C | 21-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 12.0 h | 10 h | 58-72 / 72-85% | Rain easing; moist refuges | 3-4 | Post-mating / early gravidity |
| May | 26-29 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 11.9 h | 9 h 54 m | 50-65 / 68-82% | Dry phase starts; refuge moist | 3 | Gravid monitoring |
| June | 26-30 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 11.8 h | 9 h 48 m | 48-62 / 65-80% | Dry; mist refuge 1-2x/wk | 3 | Dry-season gravidity |
| July | 26-30 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 11.8 h | 9 h 48 m | 45-60 / 65-78% | Dry; deep substrate stays moist | 3 | Historic laying / birth window |
| August | 26-30 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 11.9 h | 9 h 54 m | 45-60 / 65-78% | Dry; deep substrate stays moist | 3 | Late gravid / birth-laying window |
| September | 26-30 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 12.0 h | 10 h | 45-62 / 65-80% | Dry; limited surface mist | 2-3 | Likely neonate emergence |
| October | 26-30 C | 20-23 C | 35-38 C | 1-2 | 12.2 h | 10 h 12 m | 48-64 / 68-82% | Dry; maintain moist refuges | 2-3 | Neonate emergence / recovery |
| November | 26-29 C | 20-23 C | 34-37 C | 1-2 | 12.3 h | 10 h 18 m | 52-68 / 70-84% | Dry ending; rain pulses rise | 3 | Recovery / conditioning |
| December | 25-28 C | 20-23 C | 34-37 C | 1-2 | 12.4 h | 10 h 24 m | 62-76 / 76-90% | Wet season returns | 3-4 | Feeding / body condition |
Keeper notes
Use measured gradients and animal behaviour, not single thermostat readings
T5 UVI measurement
Measure UVI at normal back height directly beneath the brightest accessible part of the optional T5 strip. Place the strip toward the middle/back with free access to and away from it; preserve a gradient into fully covered refuges near UVI 0. These numbers describe the exposure area, not the whole enclosure or a daily average.
UVI review
The retained range remains a provisional captive working target. No new species-specific result was found that clearly requires a numerical change. Retaining it is not certification of an experimentally established optimum.
Habitat and structure
Terrestrial, diurnal and semi-fossorial. Provide deep diggable substrate, leaf litter, cork, flat rocks and many tight crevices. Floor area and cover are more important than height. Support heavy rockwork from the enclosure base.
Heat and UVB
Use about 25-30 C daytime air, 20-23 C nights and a local 34-38 C basking surface. UVI about 1-2 in the open warm zone is a conservative operational starting point because the species is diurnal but spends extensive time under cover.
Humidity and dry season
The classic Exu study had a dry season from about May-November. Reproduce this mainly at the surface: reduce rain and allow exposed substrate to dry, while preserving moist deeper soil and humid hides. Drinking water stays available all year.
Diet
Wild prey includes beetle pupae and larvae, carabid beetles, earwigs, spiders, harvestmen and scorpions. In captivity use safer analogues such as gut-loaded roaches, crickets, locust nymphs, silkworms, earthworms and occasional snails; do not deliberately feed dangerous wild arachnids.
Reproductive cycle
Classic field work suggests mating around March, reproductive females in July-August, one annual reproductive event during the dry season and young appearing around September-October.
Reproductive mode unresolved
Vitt (1985) described 1-7 eggs and treated the species as oviparous, but a 2024 peer-reviewed report documented three live neonates after 58 days of observation at mean soil temperature 28 C, with no eggs or eggshells found. Treat parity mode as unresolved rather than assuming eggs will always be laid.
Gravid females / neonates
From May-October keep deep substrate stable and retain warm moist retreats around 26-29 C. Avoid repeated digging or handling of gravid females. Neonates require abundant cover, small prey and dependable hydration.
Keeper warning
Caatinga does not mean bone-dry husbandry. This species naturally exploits buffered crevices and subsurface cover. Whole-substrate desiccation and uniform enclosure heat are both inappropriate.